CHRONICLEWATCH RESULTS / Working for a better Bay Area

Suzanne Pullen

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, April 29, 2006

RESULTS: DAY 98

San Francisco play structure replaced: A recently remodeled playground, damaged by arson, got a new jungle gym last week thanks to a group of Sunset residents. When ChronicleWatch reported on the damage at South Sunset Park in January, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department spokeswoman Rose Marie Dennis told us her agency didn't have $100,000 to repair the structure. Instead, work crews removed the apparatus and fenced off the scarred area in August. But soon after, Supervisor Fiona Ma organized a fundraising effort and got the city to provide matching funds. Last month, city crews broke ground, and on April 22 the new structure was unveiled. "As a parent of a 2-year-old that lives four blocks from the playground, I am thrilled to see it rebuilt," said Suzie Larsen, a tipster who helped lead the community's $40,000 fundraising drive. Tipster George Lee told us local school kids held a "hop-a-thon" to raise money. "The kids can also see that they had a hand in fixing the playground," he said. The project, which cost an estimated $80,000, included additional security lighting, which will be installed in the next two months. "An amazing coalition came through for our children, and I'm honored to have been a part of that process," Ma said. -- Who got it done: Fiona Ma, S.F. District 4 supervisor, (415) 554-7460; fiona.ma@sfgov.org